Top Search Stories - February 2008

Google's recent updates to its mobile search service aim to
deliver a faster and more intuitive mobile search experience.
Instead of leaving users to sift through results from both the
mobile and regular search, the new service trawls all sources -
including web, mobile, news articles, local business listings,
images, etc. and then lists the most relevant results. From a local
search perspective, the service will now remember recent search
locations of a user and factor this data into future results.

Steve Cheng, Google's mobile search product manager, commented:
"With millions of mobile phones in use worldwide, our goal is to
make the Google search experience even more useful and relevant for
users on the go."

IPA forms new search group

The recent launch of the IPA Search Group promises tangible
benefits for practitioners within the search marketing industry.
The group, whose task it will be to help the sector mature, has
marked its launch by issuing agency guidelines guarding against the
use and mis-use of client trademarks in search engine marketing.
Advertisers are becoming increasingly concerned that the misuse of
trademarks is leading to a loss in website traffic and sales and is
ultimately damaging brands.

Another key function of the group will be to push search engines
for improved service levels, greater protections and increased
clarity. Through talks with the major paid for search providers
such as Google, the search group has compiled a document clarifying
current and future policies. The document will remain under
constant review to ensure it keeps up to date with any industry
developments.

New online consumer study for travel sector

Google UK and ComScore Inc. recently unveiled the results of a
study which looked at online consumer behaviour within the travel
sector. The research has revealed that it takes the average
consumer about one month, from the time the initial search is made,
to make a purchase. During this process a prospective buyer will
visit 22 websites and make 12 searches using travel
terminology.

Another major finding of the research, which measured consumer
behaviour through Q1 2007 across the major UK search engines, is
that the majority of online consumers use generic search terms
during their customer journey. The study goes on to highlight the
potential of advertising against a generic search term.

Google UK's Robin Frewer, Industry Leader, Travel said: "The fact
that users are using more generic search queries gives ample
opportunity for brands to attract new customers and brands that are
not present during these searches are missing out on sales."

Google tests bidding by demographics

Google is testing demographic bidding for AdWords on its content
network in both the UK and US markets. A select group of
advertisers will run demographically targeted campaigns during this
phase of testing.

There will be two ways to use demographic bidding. Firstly, bids
can be modified for a particular audience segment e.g. increasing
bids for 25-34 year-old males. Secondly, advertisers can narrow ads
by elimination, choosing certain demographic groups that they do
not want to show their ads to (possibly based on prior knowledge
that the demographic in question is not meeting ROI goals).

These changes are reminiscent of the demographic-targeting
functionality of Microsoft's AdCenter, which featured heavily in
the company's 2006 marketing for the release of the ad
platform.

Google claims to be able to target the data from 'anonymised' user
information and plans a full rollout later in the year.

Microsoft launches adCenter add-in for Excel
2007

The new add-in allows Microsoft to integrate several of its
advanced keyword technologies and valuable data into Excel 2007.
The tool, which will allow users to conduct keyword research within
the Excel programme itself, is based on the Microsoft Keyword
Services Platform (KSP). Microsoft plans to utilise this tool to
enable third party developers to build applications with Microsoft
keyword technologies.

Microsoft Corp has offered to buy Yahoo for $44.6bn (£22.4bn) in
cash and shares, in an attempt to create an online search and
advertising group that can rival market leader Google.

The deal, which is currently being considered by the board of
Yahoo, would unite one of the internet's largest and oldest
destinations, Yahoo, with Microsoft's MSN platform in the biggest
internet merger since AOL bought Time Warner for $112bn in
2000.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer sent a letter to Yahoo's
board offering $31 per share in cash and stock, which would see
Yahoo shareholders receiving either cash or Microsoft shares
(0.9509 of shares per 1 Yahoo share). Ballmer commented :
"When you combine the strengths of our two companies the result
will be an incredibly efficient and competitive offering for
consumers, for advertisers and for publishers,"

The deal would mark one of the largest takeovers in American
corporate history, and the largest in the technology sector. Yahoo
shares have already risen sharply since the news broke on 1 Feb,
climbing 48.75 per cent to $28.53 per share.

Google warns that the merger raises "Troubling questions" about
the future of the internet. Writing on the official Google Blog,
David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer has warned that a
takeover would create a business with an "overwhelming share" of
online communications services of web-based email and instant
messaging.

The industry will watch and wait to see what happens next.
Greenlight CEO, Warren Cowan said: "This acquisition would be
monumental for the industry. It essentially means that a 3 horse
race will become a 2 horse race. Neither Microsoft nor Yahoo
have been able to successfully compete against Google. Microsoft
feel like they would be paying a fair premium for Yahoo and with a
stake in Facebook and the acquisition of aQuantive, Microsoft might
finally be a serious competitor for Google. It's about time this
happened, they've been flirting with the idea for a long time."